London Letters
by the maids diaries
Summary: Response to a picture challenge from tumblr. Elsie is waiting for a letter. Raindrops and a wet Charles. What could happen?


This is a response to a challenge fic at the tumblr. Hope my girls like it, it's for you all. ,3 And thank you Onesimus for keeping helping me with the grammar.

**London Letters**

It's funny the variations with which time can be measured. The common way is to count it by minutes, seconds, hours, days, months, but for her, during the summers, time came down to waiting for each new letter.

Generally, each Tuesday evening William returned from the village bringing her the correspondence. As usual, he knocked on her door and handed her the cream envelope, with the address written on it with lustrous black inky. She would always look at the envelope for long moments while she sat down in her chair and then she would run her thumb over her own name. A small happy smile always danced on her lips and her heart slowed down a little bit. Summer is always the worst part of the year, when she is counting the days for some news, however insignificant. It is the season when her guard drops and hopes and expectations dip, wishing deeply each year that he will return, and this time, directly to her arms.

When the day for him to return comes, it's never as fast as Elsie wished, and never in the way she wished. Charles will never take her in his arms nor raise her off the ground nor run his hands over her face and hair while looking at her face for long moments checking his memory of her features. She never smiles openly as they stand so close, just as he would never kiss her, on the face or lips, but he certainly smiles, as he always does, allowing his hand to caress her upper arm for a fraction of a second.

And then the spell is broken, service takes his attention and life seems back to normal. Everything finds its proper place and her heart slows down. After all he is there, under her eyes and her fingertips, even if they never dare to touch him.

On that fateful cloudy afternoon that dragged, it wouldn't be any different, she was sure. William would soon return with his letter and she would lock herself in her pantry reading each word carefully and calmly while letting herself imagine his voice saying those words, there in her company.

Although the waiting was not a new companion, that afternoon made her uneasy. It was the last card of the season to come, one more week, and he would be back. In seven days she would put on her armor and get her feeling under control for the moment her eyes finally saw him, the tall and slender Butler, showing nothing but friendship and respect.

Maybe it was the promise of rain, the absence of a breeze, or the sepulchral silence in Downton that made her stop waiting and get up from her seat. When she reached the door, the first drops began to fall, staining the courtyard darker colors to evolve rapidly into a summer storm in front of her eyes. William's return would certainly be delayed.

A sigh escaped her lips and Elsie rested her body against the door frame, letting the gentle breeze caress her face while splashes of rain dotted the delicate skin of her cheeks and forehead, giving her a pleasant feeling of freshness.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing her brain to just stop and focus on anything, which was totally impossible and useless. Her thoughts were occupied by him, and only by him, day and night. Had he missed her? Had he met a new woman? Was he getting along with the housekeeper in London? Would he have been well all this time? Eaten right? Rested enough? Questions and more questions.

He certainly would give her a sideways glance, finding her worries exaggerated, but then he would give her a small shy smile. Men are like children, she thought smiling. The truth was that she's hopelessly in love, hopelessly and undeniably in love with Charles Carson from the moment she saw him first in the pantry that today was hers, almost two decades ago.

"Mrs. Hughes?" She heard the voice of Charles muffled and distant, the ghost of a memory, perfectly preserved and safe in her memory calling to her. So tempting. The same pitch, saying her name with that gentle and friendly way he used.

Maybe she should just go try to sleep so that time would pass faster until William returned with the others. Maybe sleeping would take him out of her head, or not, who knows if when she submerged herself in her dreams she would meet him finally.

"Mrs. Hughes, are you alright?" It was only when a hand closed on her upper arm and the light seemed to disappear behind her eyelids that she finally opened her eyes and saw him. It was far a memory, a dream or a vision, he was there, Charles Carson, flesh, bone, and completely soaked, looking at her with evident concern.

Elsie just stared at him, too surprised to be able to articulate any sentence. He was there in wet clothes, his hair falling loose on his forehead, a suitcase in hand. Raindrops streaming down his face nonstop and if he certainly was not so close she could have not seen him. Her heart fluttered, skipping a beats. She definitely was not ready for a surprise like that, not now.

"You're here." She murmured unable to contain herself, leaving her mouth open longer than necessary so that he would not notice her surprise. It was inevitable.

"Yes." Charles smiled, squeezing her arm gently as his thumb ran slightly over her sleeve. "Did something happen? Are you feeling okay? "

"Yes, I just ..." Elsie paused, trying to concentrate on the words, think of something proper to be said and not just pounce on him, but her guard was dropped and she felt weak and lost for the first time in front of him. She was torn between desire and duty.

She should just take a step back so he could get out of the rain and change his clothes, but she suddenly grew roots in the doorway and he made no mention in entering the house. The rain was completely forgotten.

"What is it, Mrs. Hughes?" There was a note of anxiety in his voice and then the suitcase fell to the courtyard floor and he took hers hands in his. "You can tell me whatever has happened." Charles was sincerely concerned, it was easy to see, and even tired from the trip, he was there, standing in the rain, trying to understand what happened to her. He could not know about the internal battle she was fighting.

"I'm surprised, I was not expecting ..." She stammered uncertain, licking her lips slowly and looking around them, trying to regain her composure, but it was even harder when she looked down and saw their hands together uncertain of the sensations they caused in herself. That vision was too disturbingly charming and satisfying.

"I did not mean to scare you, if I did I ask you to forgive me, it was not my intention. I'm really sorry, Mrs. Hughes." She heard him say, before looking up to him, who was staring straight deep in her eyes trying to study it, to understand what she's going through.

"I know you did not, I was just waiting for William to return to the correspondence and was looking forward to..." Elsie laughed nervously, drew her hands from him and rubbed her face quickly. Without have direct contact with him she noticed that it was easier to articulate herself, and even breathe, something that seemed she hadn't in the last minutes. An unusual heat suppressed her chest, hitting her throat. "I missed you with all my heart, Charles." She confessed unable to contain herself.

When their eyes met, Elsie waited with anything but relief. Charles closed his eyes and laughed for a moment before pulling her close to him. Drops of rain hit her face with more strength, wetting her hair and dress, but getting soaked was insignificant and too low a price to be paid to finally be in his arms.

Lips found the top of her hair and she buried her face in his chest, getting used to the feeling of welcome and security that came from him. She felt herself small and delicate with his arms around her waist. The warm feeling in her chest found release in silent tears mixed with raindrops, running down her cheeks silently.

"Are you okay, Elsie?"

She lifted her face, without departing from him and looked up. "Now I am, and you?"

"I'm glad to be home." One of his hands touched the woman's face, stroking it gently as he watched her. "I could not wait to come back." There was relief and satisfaction in his eyes and words.

A smile curled Elsie's lips as her cheeks assumed a tone noticeably pink. She felt ashamed of the whole situation and at the same time pleased to have been unable to prevent the words escaping her mouth. It wasn't that what she always wanted?

"I expected a letter not you."

"I know, but I had the opportunity to return before the family and ..." He shrugged his shoulders, wrapping her waist tighter. His lips brushed the skin of Elsie's forehead, leaving a soft kiss there. "I also missed you, every minute of every day."

Elsie was much shorter than he even standing in her tiptoes, but that wasn't a problem. Her little hands touched Charles face for the first time before her lips touched his in an impulse. Her soft kiss lasted less than she would like, but no less than necessary for making her legs weaken.

When she opened her eyes to look at him, still close and dividing the same breath, Elsie could see through his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she let him lead her into a new kiss, this time a little more daring, allowing their lips to delicately intertwine, deepening the kiss slowly, until the emergency caused by shortness of breath forced them to stop.

"Let's get those wet clothes off before you get sick because of me." His hand came down from her cheeks to her neck, watching as she tilted her head to the other side with a silly smile playing on her lips.

She nodded and observed while Charles took the suitcase off of the ground and entered the house behind her. Their fingers touched and intertwined, making them look and smile at each other as they walked along the deserted corridor.

"I would like to have tea inside, so perhaps we should change?"

"I would love to."

**THE END**

****reviews are really apreciated, thanks****


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